Nagaland chief Minister T.R Zeliang expressed optimism that as NPF was a major partner of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), he hoped the alliance would install non-congress governments in all the NE States before the next 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Speaking at the one-day seminar cum workshop of press secretaries, at the conference hall organized by NPF central, Kohima Wednesday , the chief minister also expressed the hope that NEDA would strengthen the hands of the Prime Minister Modi especially in the Northeast region.
He urged the party workers/press secretaries to remain steadfast and continue to serve the people in their individual capacity. While lauding the party Press Bureau for organizing the programme, he also reminded the press secretaries to maintain good relations and insisted that reports should be fair, balanced and honest.
He illustrated it by citing the March 5, 2015 lynching of a rapist which went viral in a manner of minutes and how it caught the global attention. Zeliang said be it Whatsapp or other social media applications, one should be a responsible user.
On the non-payment of salaries to the CSS appointed teachers, Zeliang regretted that inspite of the state deficit of Rs 1,500 crores when he took over as chief minister on May 24, 2014, the inability to pay salaries of the CSS employees was being made as failure of the State Government.
He said when the government of India did not release the funds the state was helpless. Further he said the state government was totally sympathetic to the plight of the teachers but that the government’s hands were tied in making any alternative arrangement. Zeliang reminded that despite scarcity of funds, the government had on several occasions in the past, advanced scarce resources to pay salaries of employees.
On Naga political issue, Zeliang reminded that it was UDF (now NPF) which was the only registered political party with ECI to have contested in the first Nagaland Assembly Elections in 1964 with the primary objective of “a political solution” to the Naga political issue. He said elected members had decided to pave way, if a solution to the Naga political issue was brought about. He also reminded that after the first cease-fire agreement was signed between NNC and the government of India in 1964. During that period, he said all legislators of the UDF resigned en bloc as a manifestation of the party’s stand for the Naga issue in letter and in spirit.
He also mentioned about the formation of Parliamentary Working Committee(PWC) on the Naga Political issue and meeting with central leaders at Delhi and other leaders to solicit their support for the solution of the Naga political issue and for discussion and approval in the parliament.
Zeliang said the resignations of 4 NPF MLAs in Manipur, in protest against the three anti-tribal Bills passed by the State Assembly last year, showed that NPF was a political party that stood by the people and prepared to do anything for its people.
NPF president Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu said Press Secretaries (PS) of a political party shoulder the responsibility of upholding the ideology of the party. He said NPF and the government has often been attacked and criticized with unfounded allegations continuously by some organizations. He said the PS should defend the party wherever it was found that the party was not guilty but asked the PS not to be vindictive in defense.
Liezietsu said everybody talked about unity but Nagas are divided in too many forms. He said there were few divisive forces working hard to divide the people, create enmity and communal feeling and questioned whether it was necessary to bring all these nefarious designs of few people, to the notice of the Nagas every day?
He expressed desire that Nagaland newspapers carry more of positive news to project the good image of Nagaland to the outside world as Nagas in reality, particularly the younger generation have been doing very well now.
While lauding the Press Bureau for organising the programme, Rajya Sabha MP K.G. Kenye said Nagas are politically hyper sensitive where one word could flare up into many controversies. He lauded the media houses for playing an important role, risking lives by dealing with issues in all sector.
NPF press secretary T.L Merry delivered the significance of the seminar. Earlier, Zeliang also launched the NPF official website, www.npforg.com.